86 Walking map:
London 1564 to 1700
88 London’s royal palaces
96 River Thames
frost fairs
98 The Gin Craze
100 A tale of one city:
Dickensian London
106 The 1851 Great
Exhibition
108 The London
Underground
112 The Championships,
Wimbledon
114 Royal Observatory,
Greenwich

50

138

40
128
116 Victorian crime
126 Walking map:
London 1700 to 1940
128 London under
the Blitz
134 The Great Smog
of London
136 The 7/7 London
terrorist bombings
138 2012 Summer
Olympics

26

142 Walking map:
London 1940 to today

Book of London

Boudicca lays
waste to London
The revolt of the Iceni in 60-61 CE visited upon
London a grim and grisly fate

T

he Roman Empire, like many before and
after, often witnessed a revitalisation of
resistance after a period of pacification, and
its experiences in Britain were no different.
In 60 CE, the most famous of the Britonsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;
rebellions erupted, the echoes of which are still
heard to this day. The revolt broke out in the lands
of the Iceni and Trinovantes in modern-day East
Anglia, Suffolk and Greater London, with the queen
of Iceni, Boudicca, at its head.
Boudicca was the widow of a client king called
Prasutagas, and on his passing, the Romans had
incorporated the kingdom into the province.
Prasutagas had made the emperor, Nero, his

10

co-heir in a bid to protect his family, but any
hope of a smooth transition soon passed as
Roman centurions and imperial slaves ran amok,
committing many outrages against the royal family.
Boudicca was flogged and her daughters raped.
Many family members lost their land. Boudicca
demanded vengeance, and the towns of Colchester
(Camulodunum), St Albans (Verulamium), and
London (Londinium) felt her terrible wrath.
According to the Roman historian Tacitus, who
provides the oldest (though not contemporaneous)
account of the rebellion, she inflicted hideous
abuses on the Romans and their sympathisers
before her defeat.

Boudicca lays waste to London

The state of
London in 60 CE

Boudicca in
her war chariot
rousing her troops

Her assault on London came in the wake of
the razing of Colchester, itself foreshadowed by a
series of strange portents, Tacitus says, including
a vision emerging in the Thames estuary of the
colony in ruins. When the rebellious Britons
emerged before London, they were emboldened
by their success, having overrun Colchester and
ambushed a detachment of legionaries sent to the
colony’s rescue.
If any witnesses of the Iceni’s destruction of
Colchester had arrived in London ahead of the
rampaging rebels, their tales would have struck
fear into people’s hearts. The Britons had paid no
heed to age or gender, crucifying, hanging and
putting to the sword everyone who they found.
London would fare no better.
Before the Britons approached, the inhabitants
might have been cheered by the arrival of the
Roman governor, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, with
a cavalry escort, who considered organising a
defence of the town. He soon realised, however,
that there wasn’t time to erect barricades and
marshal the defenders, so he decided to withdraw,
abandoning London to its agonising fate. “He
decided to sacrifice a single town in order to save
the whole province,” says Tacitus.
A few able-bodied men were invited to join his
column, but women, the young and the old were
left to be overrun by Boudicca’s army. Tacitus
describes the event as “slaughter, hangings, fire
and crucifixion.”

It is the later writer, Cassius Dio, who provides
the grimmer detail, perhaps in a bid to titillate
his male readership, or perhaps knowing a little
more of Celtic religions. He claims that in the
groves dedicated to the goddess Andrasta, terrible
atrocities were visited upon London’s women.
“Their breasts were cut off,” he writes, “and stuffed
into their mouths so that they seemed to be eating
them. Then their bodies were skewered lengthwise
on sharp stakes.”
As to the fate of the captured men, he remains
silent on the subject. There are also no definitive
accounts on the exact destruction wrought upon
the architecture of the place, but it was looted and
it seems more than likely that the flames would
have swallowed the entire town, which at this
stage was built of wood and clay and thatch. St
Albans soon followed.
After the third town fell, Suetonius Paulinus
met the Britons in battle, and his force – although
smaller – was a battle-hardened and professional
unit. The Roman victory was total, and the
reprisals were harsh, though this proved cold
comfort for those who had lost family and friends
in Boudicca’s bitter rampage.

Despite being a new town, founded by the Romans
shortly after the Claudian invasion of 43 CE, after
just a decade, London had blossomed into a thriving
entrepôt brimming with traders and travellers. Its
walls were still many years from construction, and
there would have been little stone architecture at
this embryonic stage. The nucleus of this settlement
was centred on either side of the Thames, linked by
a Roman bridge, and it already enjoyed a rectilinear
street pattern.
The archaeological evidence of Boudicca’s
destruction is found in a red layer of oxidised iron
that lies among a layer of burnt clay, wood and ash.
“It is the first token of the city’s appetite for human
life,” writes London’s biographer Peter Ackroyd. “Red
is London’s colour, a sign of fire and devastation.”
Legend has it that modern-day King’s Cross – once
known as Battle Bridge – was the site of the major
battle between the Romans and the Iceni. There is no
historical evidence of this, although Lewis Spence’s
1937 book Boadicea: Warrior Queen Of The Britons
included a highly fanciful map showing the positions
of the two armies. There is also a legend that after
the battle, Boudicca was buried in a grave that lies
currently between platforms 9 and 10 in King’s Cross
Station, although again, there is no evidence to
support the claim.

This etching of Boudicca’s destruction
of London is highly anachronistic, as
there were no walls to burn

“Women, the young and the old were left
to be overrun by Boudicca’s army”

Boadicea and her daughters
It may seem peculiar that a city that suffered so
horribly should commemorate the woman who
inflicted the pain. And yet this bronze statue of
Boudicca and her two daughters stands proudly on
the north side of Westminster Bridge, near Portcullis
House and Westminster Pier, opposite Big Ben and the
Palace of Westminster. It is considered the defining
work of its sculptor, the English artist and engineer
Thomas Thornycroft, who worked on it for the 30
years prior to his death in 1885, though it was not set
in its current position until 1902. It depicts the warrior

queen standing upright in a flowing gown with a spear
in her right hand, and her left hand raised high above
her head. Her daughters, who suffered horribly at the
hands of the Romans, crouch beside her.
Reflecting the Victorian’s fascination with Celtic
heroes, it carries their spelling of her name, Boadicea. It
also reflects Victorian learning, as the chariot in which
she rides sports huge scythed blades on its wheels.
However, the literary and archaeological evidence
suggests the Celts did not fix blades to their war
chariots. The chariot is in fact based on Roman models.

The right side of the plinth contains an
inscription with text from William Cowper’s
poem Boadicea, an ode written in 1782: “Regions
Caesar never knew, thy posterity shall sway”

Geoffrey Chaucer was the first
poet to be buried in Poets’ Corner
at Westminster Abbey. He is
certainly in fine company;
William Shakespeare is
buried next to him.

Geoffrey
Chaucer and The
Canterbury Tales
The master of medieval poetry was a Londoner,
and this is reflected in his greatest work

Chaucer was a medieval
poet who lived in the
14th century

Chaucer’s life and career
Chaucer’s career
often took him
far from London,
but he always
returned there

24

c.1340
l Chaucer is born
Geoffrey Chaucer is
born between 1340 and
1345. His father was
a prosperous London
wine merchant.

1357
l Royal appointment
As a young man,
Chaucer is a page to
Elizabeth de Burgh,
wife of King Edward
III’s third son.

1360
l Captured
Serving in the king’s army
during the unsuccessful
invasion of Brittany, Chaucer
is captured by the French,
and held for ransom.

c.1366
l Chaucer weds
Chaucer marries
Philippa Roet, a lady-inwaiting in the queen's
household. They have
three to four children.

c.1370
l Italian influences
Serving as a diplomat in
France and Italy, Chaucer
reads and is greatly
influenced by Dante,
Petrarch and Boccaccio.

Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

T

outed as the father of English literature and
author of one of its greatest works, Geoffrey
Chaucer was also a Londoner. The son of
a prosperous wine merchant, it’s believed
Chaucer was born in the city, and we know
he spent much of his life living there.
Though best known as a poet, Chaucer also
worked as a courtier, diplomat and civil servant.
While his stint as a diplomat took him all over
Europe, his time at the royal court required him
to live in London; we know he had residences
at Aldgate and Westminster Palace. Later, he ran
the city’s custom house at Billingsgate, while
his role as clerk of the king’s work involved him
maintaining some of the city’s greatest landmarks,
including the Tower of London.
Chaucer’s most famous work is The Canterbury
Tales, a long poem about a group of pilgrims

Chaucer lived at the
Aldgate for several years

travelling together from London to Canterbury to
pay homage to Thomas Becket’s shrine. To make
the long journey more palatable, the pilgrims
decide to tell stories, with each one taking up
a chapter of the book. Though London barely
features in the collection, its cast of characters
would not have looked out of place on the streets
of London in the 14th century. It’s easy to imagine
the Merchant talking profits on Milk Street; the
Prioress at a nunnery in Bishopsgate; the Knight
riding up Bow Street to meet nobles; and the
Yeoman at an ale house in Cheapside, to name
just a few. In fact, the only character Chaucer gives
a name is a Londoner: Harry Bailey, who runs the
inn from which the pilgrims depart.
The Canterbury Tales is a literary masterpiece,
interweaving complex themes through stories that
mix genres. But one of the reasons it’s so iconic is
that it was written in English. Since the Norman
invasion of Britain in 1066, French had been the
language of the ruling class. However, in Chaucer’s
era, attitudes were changing, and the poet wrote
his magnum opus in English, proving that the
native tongue could produce as fine a work of art
as anything written in French. Thereafter, English
poetry was heartily embraced, and English
literature was born.
But Chaucer didn’t just write The Canterbury
Tales in English; he wrote it (mostly) in the
emerging London dialect. While this would not
have been quite the same as the language spoken
by London commoners – likely as different as
cockney is from received pronunciation today – it
was uniquely of the city. Chaucer’s popularity
secured the dialect’s prominence, and it became
the standard by which all official documents were
written. This in turn became the basis for the
modern English we use today.

Pilgrims and prostitutes mingled at the medieval
inn that opens The Canterbury Tales

1374
l The poet comptroller
Chaucer is appointed
comptroller of the lucrative
London customs, with a
generous salary and rent-free
accommodation above Aldgate.

c.1387
l The masterpiece
Chaucer writes his most
famous work, The Canterbury
Tales, about travellers on a
pilgrimage from London to
Canterbury Cathedral.

Literary works
and legacies
Unfinished epic

Chaucer’s original plan was for the Tales
to include 100 stories, but only 24 were
completed, some of which had already been
written for earlier works.

Character driven

It has 31 characters reflecting a broad cross
section of Medieval English society, from a
plowman to a knight, to a friar to a merchant.
However, the nobility were notably excluded.

All good things…

During his lifetime, many thought Chaucer’s
other poem, Troilus and Criseyde, was his
greatest work. This poem was the origin of the
phrase ‘all good things come to an end’.

The Tabard Inn

The Tabard Inn is where Chaucer’s characters first meet, but it was
also a real place, well known in the 14th century for accommodating
travellers going on the annual pilgrimage to Canterbury. The inn was
located on Borough High Street in Southwark, which at the time was
a relatively lawless place, falling outside the city’s jurisdiction. As
well as its more devout guests, the Tabard would have been home
to local drunks, criminals and prostitutes.
The inn was demolished in 1873, but you can still enjoy a drink as
the pilgrims would have at the equally historic George Inn, which is
next door to where the Tabard used to be.

Title page of Geoffrey Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales, c.1400

First among equals

Chaucer popularised writing in English, but he
wasn’t the first. John Gower, William Langland,
the Pearl Poet and Julian of Norwich all did it
before him.

Written in the stars
The Tabard Inn stood for 566 years,
pictured here in 1873

1389
l Landmark custodian
As clerk of the king’s work,
Chaucer manages repair of
royal buildings, including
the Tower of London and
Westminster Palace.

As well as being a writer, diplomat and more,
Chaucer was a keen astronomer. It’s fitting
then that a crater on the Moon has been
named in his honour.

1400
l Chaucer dies
Chaucer disappears from
the historical record, and
is thought to have died
soon after. He is buried in
Westminster Abbey.

25

Book of London
Robert Wintour, John Grant and Christopher
With his first co-conspirators in place, Catesby
Wright were also all inducted. Not only were they
sprung into action. The opening of Parliament had
all passionate Catholics, but many possessed large
been postponed until 5 November the following
fortunes and manor houses that would certainly
year due to plague. This gave him time to prepare
aid the cause.
everything. Initially, Catesby figured the best
Secretly, Catesby was worried. He wasn’t a
way to get the gunpowder beneath the House of
terrorist motivated by blind revenge, he was a
Lords would be to dig a tunnel, but the men soon
moral and religious man, and wanted to be sure
realised a far safer way was to lease one of the
that what he was doing was
storerooms that lay beneath.
right. Struggling with his
Luckily, Percy had a business
conscience, he repeatedly
in London, so could easily
visited two priests, Father
lease a storeroom without
Henry Garnet and Oswald
attracting suspicion. Explosives
Tesimond. Catesby had no
expert Guy Fawkes posed as
doubts that the king was guilty,
John Johnson, Percy’s servant,
but worried about the innocent
and was placed in the premises.
people who would inevitably
The conspirators stored the
be killed in the blast. He asked
gunpowder in Catesby’s house
if this could be excused: was
and gradually ferried it across
Guy Fawkes’s signature before torture
(top) and after (bottom)
it okay to kill innocents for the
the Thames into the dwelling
greater good? Sworn to the law of
under the cover of darkness.
confession, Garnet could tell no one of Catesby’s
Steadily, more and more men were drafted into
plot, but he attempted to dissuade him.
the conspiracy, as it proved impossible for five
Despite the priests’ warnings, Catesby continued
men alone to handle such grand plans. Catesby’s
bringing gunpowder into the storage hold. He
servant, Bates, became suspicious, and his master
also began to make plans for the second part of
had no option but to recruit him. Robert Keyes,

their scheme. Eager to maintain some order after
the king’s death, he decided that James’s child,
Princess Elizabeth, would be put in place as his
successor. At only eight years old he believed
she could be moulded into the figurehead
they desired. Elizabeth was also located not in
London but in Coombe Abbey near Coventry.
In order to make sure this final stage went off
without a hitch, Catesby recruited his final three
conspirators, Ambrose Rookwood, Everard Digby
and Francis Tresham.
By October, everything was in place. Fawkes
would remain in London and light the fuse, before
escaping the city and travelling to Europe to
drum up support. Meanwhile, in the subsequent
madness, a revolt would break out in the Midlands
and Elizabeth would be captured. Catesby seemed
to have recovered from his earlier concern, but
the same could not be said of his co-conspirators.
A number of the men had friends in Parliament
who were fellow Catholics. Late in the evening
on 26 October, a letter arrived at the house of
one of these fellow Catholics: Lord Monteagle, a
man who had, in his youth, played a part in a fair
number of Catholic plots himself. The contents of
the letter were shocking. It warned him to abstain

James I described Guy
Fawkes as possessing
“a Roman resolution”

As the plot was uncovered, the men fled their separate ways, clinging to hope of revolution

Evening
4 November

Night
4 November

Late night
4 November

Morning
5 November

Catesby, John Wright and
Bates decide that the plot
will go ahead, despite the
discovery that a warning
letter was sent to Monteagle,
and begin setting out towards
the Midlands.

The king’s men search the
vaults under Parliament.
They stumble upon Fawkes
standing by a pile of wood,
who informs them his name
is John Johnson, and that he
works for Thomas Percy.

Under the king’s orders, the
men return to the vault and
find Fawkes dressed ready for
a getaway. He is immediately
arrested, and taken to the
king in the early hours of
5 November.

Christopher Wright learns
of the plot’s discovery and
rushes to the Duck and
Drake Inn to inform Thomas
Wintour. Wintour warns those
still in London – Percy, Keyes
and Rookwood.

Westminster

56

Parliament vaults

Parliament vaults

Westminster

The men at Holbeach House were
stripped of their clothes and
possessions before being taken to prison

Midday
5 November

6pm
5 November

Rookwood rides furiously for
two hours and manages to
catch up with Catesby and
the others to warn them of
the plot’s failure and Fawkes’s
arrest. They decide to
continue on to Dunchurch.

The six fleeing conspirators
meet up with Robert
Wintour, then continue on
and meet with Digby, who
is accompanied by a hunting
party. They continue west
to Warwick.

Near Milton Keynes

Ashby St Ledgers

The Gunpowder Plot
from attending Parliament on 5 November, as
“they shall receive a terrible blow, this Parliament.”
Very aware of how serious this threat could be,
Monteagle alerted the Earl of Salisbury.
News of the letter quickly found its way back to
Catesby, and Tresham was immediately suspected,
as Monteagle was his brother-in-law. Catesby and
Thomas Wintour furiously confronted the new
recruit, threatening to hang him for his idiocy, but
Tresham was able to convince his fiery leader of his
innocence. However, Catesby was unwilling to listen
to Tresham’s urges to abandon the plot – he was
too committed. Risks be damned, the plot would
go ahead as planned.
Meanwhile, the king had learned of the
mysterious letter. Unlike many of his advisers,
he took the warning very seriously. However, he
decided to bide his time until the night in question,
and see if the conspirators would carry out their
alleged plot. When 4 November dawned, both the
king and Catesby leapt into action. Catesby, with
John Wright and Bates, left for the Midlands to
launch the second part of the plan, while Fawkes
prepared for his pivotal part.
The king was preparing too. James’s men were
searching all the buildings around Parliament for

signs of anything suspicious. It was in the cellar
during one of these searches that they stumbled
upon Fawkes. Dressed as a serving man, he stood
before a large, suspicious pile of firewood. He
explained that he was a servant of Percy, though
came across rather desperate. Apprehensive but
not willing to upset him further, the men left
to report their findings to the king. As soon as
James heard Percy’s name, he was suspicious, and
ordered another search of the cellar.
When the men returned, Fawkes was still there.
Dressed in his hat, cape and spurs, ready for a
quick getaway, he was arrested and searched.
Although he stuck to his story and insisted his
name was John Johnson, they discovered matches
and touchwood on his person. The king’s men
inspected the firewood and uncovered 36 barrels
of gunpowder, enough to blow the houses of
Parliament sky high.
Everything now rested with Fawkes. The plot
had failed, that much was obvious, but if he held
out long enough, the lives of his friends could be
saved. As Fawkes was questioned, he displayed
remarkable courage in the face of almost certain
death. He stuck by his story that he was indeed
John Johnson. However, he did not for a moment

After his arrest, Fawkes
was imprisoned in the
Tower of London

Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Evening
Night
6 November 6 November 6 November 6 November 7 November

Night
7 November

Morning
8 November

Catesby and his men raid
the castle for supplies,
arming themselves for
the fight they believe will
follow, before continuing
to Norbrook where they
pick up more weapons.

The fugitives arrive at
Holbeach House. They
spread out their damp
gunpowder before a fire
and many of them are
set alight. Some of the
men choose to leave.

200 men led by the
Sheriff of Worcestershire
besiege Holbeach House.
In the gunfight, Catesby,
Percy and the Wright
brothers are killed. The
others are arrested.

Warwick Castle

Huddington

The conspirators arrive
in Huddington and meet
with Thomas Wintour.
Despite Catesby’s hopes,
nobody is willing to ally
with them, and they are
forced to continue alone.

London

The Lord Chief Justice
questions Rookwood’s
servants and uncovers
the identity of several
of the men involved,
including Catesby,
Rookwood and Wintour.

Tower of London

With Guy Fawkes’s
resolve still holding,
James permits the use
of torture to loosen his
tongue. He orders that
‘gentler tortures’ are
used first.

Tower of London

After enduring the
horrors of the rack,
Guy Fawkes finally
confesses the details
of the plot as well as
the names of his fellow
co-conspirators.

Holbeach House

Holbeach House

57

Book of London

London 1564
to 1700

1.

1571
The
Tyburn
Tree is
erected

The infamous Tyburn Tree is where
many a notorious criminal went to
meet their maker. All that remains of
the Triple Tree gallows nowadays is
a memorial plaque, yet once upon a
time the body of Oliver Cromwell was
displayed here as a warning to all.

1670
Leicester
Square

Once the home of the
wealthy, you can now
relax with a meal or
movie, or just wander
in the gardens.

1

9

1661
Pall Mall

2.

Packed full of historic clubs
and shops, Pall Mall is a
fashionable must-see.

1587
The Rose
Theatre opens

This Elizabethan playhouse was closed
in the early 17th century and excavated
nearly 400 years later. Today visitors
can view the remains of the site as well
as original artefacts discovered there.
You can even enjoy productions staged
in this once magnificent theatre.

7

1660
Trooping
the Colour

The Trooping the Colour offers
an opportunity to see a highly
traditional military display in
honour of the queen’s birthday.

5

3.

13

1633
The Actors’
Church opens

Better known as The Actors’ Church, St
Paul’s overlooks Covent Garden. Designed
by Inigo Jones, the church’s history is rich
with theatrical stories. It’s even the place
where Samuel Pepys watched the first
documented Punch and Judy show in 1662.

11
4.

1636
Goldsmiths’
Hall is rebuilt

Though it is usually closed to the
public, the opulent Goldsmiths’ Hall
holds regular open days on which
visitors are welcome to attend. There’s
also the annual Goldsmiths’ Fair,
offering a chance to see the brightest
and best jewellery designers working in
Britain today.

86

1682
Royal Hospital,
Chelsea

10

1673
Chelsea
Physic Garden

Travel back in time in this calming
botanic garden, which houses over
5,000 medicinal specimens.

The peaceful home of the
Chelsea Pensioners, known
for their distinctive red coats.

12

London 1564 to 1700

13.

1689
Changing
of the Guard

3

This daily ritual is a favourite
with visitors who flock to see the
Buckingham Palace Life Guards hand
over to their replacement sentries.
From their distinctive bearskins to
their red tunics, the Changing of the
Guard is one of the iconic images
of London.

4

14.

1694
Bank of
England

14
8
1663
Theatre Royal,
Drury Lane

16

Surviving multiple fires
and ruin, the Theatre Royal
remains one of London’s
most historic venues.

1660
Vauxhall
Pleasure Gardens

Though little remains of it today, the
Pleasure Gardens were once the pinnacle
of London’s glittering social scene.

Probably Britain’s most
famous address, the prime
minister’s home actually
began life as a mansion.

15.

2

6

1682
10 Downing
Street

The Old Lady of
Threadneedle Street is
the centre of banking in the United
Kingdom. The bank has had several
locations since it was established,
but for nearly three centuries it has
dominated Threadneedle Street and
shows no signs of moving on.

1694
Royal Hospital for
Seamen, Greenwich

15

Part of the Old Royal Naval College at
Greenwich, the Royal Hospital for Seamen
was Mary II’s way of thanking the sailors
who had suffered for their country. While
there, don’t miss the newly restored
Painted Hall at the Old College; it’s a truly
magnificent sight.

16.

1699
Billingsgate Fish
Market

There’s nothing fishy about the
historic Billingsgate market. Once the
largest fish market in the world, it’s
still a popular place for those who
want to see London traders at their
characterful best and don’t mind a
bit of a whiff.

87

Book of London

The Blitz
Memorial

Positioned in front of St Paulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Cathedral, the Blitz Memorial is part of
the London Firefighters Memorial,
and celebrates the efforts of the
cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fire crews during the
bombing raids.

128

London under the Blitz

London
under
the Blitz

Following his failure in the Battle of Britain,
Hitler turned his attention to Britain’s cities,
and London in particular

T

he possibility of large-scale bombing raids
on London and other cities had been
carefully considered in the years leading
up to World War II. Small-scale attacks on
London during the previous war had served
notice of the city’s vulnerability, and with military
technology having improved greatly during the
inter-war years, there was fear that attacks would
be far more deadly.
Most worrying for the population of London
was the fact that air defences could not hope to
stop enemy planes from attacking. In the famous
words of Conservative leader Stanley Baldwin in
1932: “the bomber will always get through.” This,
coupled with Winston Churchill’s rather inelegant

prove to be a defining event in the history of
London. At the same time, it was its darkest and
its finest hour.
The period of calm following Britain’s retreat
from Dunkirk, the so-called ‘phoney war’, created
a peculiar mood in Britain. An invasion was
expected at any moment, and only the gallant
pilots of the Royal Air Force seemed capable of
offering any resistance to the Nazi war machine.
London, measuring 117 square miles at the time,
waited for the inevitable onslaught. It was more or
less defenceless – there were only 264 anti-aircraft
guns to protect the entire city, with most of the
nation’s guns being used to defend the RAF bases
and factories.

“The orchestra continued to play
with the backing of an air-raid siren”
description of London as “a kind of tremendous
fat cow tied up to attract the beasts of prey,”
created a mood of foreboding as war erupted on
the continent and British troops were forced to
evacuate from Dunkirk. Nobody doubted that
attacks were coming, and nobody doubted they
would be effective. London could not be moved to
safety, and it was too big and valuable a target for
the enemy to miss.
In the event, the bombing of London was both
worse than expected and not as bad as feared.
Estimates of 25,000 casualties a day proved to be
overly dramatic, but at the same time, the raids
were far more intense and lasted far longer than
anybody had believed possible. The Blitz would

Small bombing raids on London and other cities
(Plymouth in July 1940; Swindon, Birmingham
and Portsmouth in August) gave ominous warning
of what was to come, but the public became
accustomed to the wail of air-raid sirens, and
when the expected assaults repeatedly failed to
materialise, they even became blasé. On the night
of 24 August, at the Hammersmith Palais, the
orchestra continued to play with the backing of an
air-raid siren and only a handful of people left. On
the night of 7 September, that all changed.
‘Blitzkrieg’ had already found its way into the
world’s vocabulary following the rapid subjugation
of Poland and France. The ‘Blitz’, again drawing
on the German word for lightning, was an entirely

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